DEACON TOM ANTHONY

Sunday, March 6, 2016








My Brothers and Sisters,
  We are currently in the Year of Mercy as proclaimed by Our Holy Father. Here, we are encouraged to focus on the foundation of our faith. God is Love. And where there is Love there is forgiveness and where there is forgiveness there is mercy. None of these can be separated. All of God’s creation, the entire universe, was created out of an act of love. God’s love permeates through His creation. We, created in His image, stand at the pinnacle of Creation as a testament to that love. What did we do to deserve this? The answer would be absolutely nothing. God gave us life out of love. All around us the universe teems with life. It is constantly in motion in a glorious testament to our God. Everything is so interconnected in a beautifully choreographed dance. It is a wonderful sight to behold and experience. How wonderful it is to be invited into such a personable relationship with God.

With all this given to us, it is amazing how much we ignore Him. It is so easy to forget the presence of God as we become so wrapped up in the world around us. We become busy with so many demands on our time. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to complete the obligations that we have to insure stability in our families, relationships, and work. In the world sense, the American worker works the longest, hardest, and retires later than our counterparts throughout the industrialized world. If we feel tired, we should be. The last place a lot of people want to be is at church. Yet in reality it should be the first place anyone should want to be. I guess it could be said that that is pretty easy for me to say since I am ordained clergy and it is part of my job. But that is not the case. I came here invited to celebrate with all of you out of love for God. Pure and simple. And I imagine all of you came here for the exact same reason.

Religion is from the Latin word meaning relationship. We all gather together not only to worship our God but to enter into a dialog with Him like we do every day with all the other people we interact with. How do approach this relationship is indicative of how we approach all of our relationships in our lives. As long as God is central in our lives everything else will gradually fall into place. He needs to be the foundation and the strength that build everything else on. We cannot ignore the one who created us.

The Parable of the Lost Son gives us beautiful illustration of God’s Mercy and also offers forth a vision that most families can relate to. Rebellion and defiance happen naturally in every family. When children become of a certain age there is a propensity to spread their wings and exercise their free will; making their own decisions; struggling to free themselves from what they may see as controlling and domineering parents. Many times, this brings frustration and tension to all parties involved. Those of us who are parents are left with limited options; oftentimes waiting for that moment to catch them when they fall and comfort them when they return. God is our parent. He is Our Father. We are reminded that, in our own rebelliousness, we will indeed turn away from Him often and go about our own lives while ignoring His participation in our salvation story. It is only when we fully return to Him, broken and desperate, that we will experience true joy.

God is patient. God is kind. And yes, God is ever merciful. He wants to forgive us and make us whole. So, how do we experience God’s mercy? We don’t have to make a grievous mistake or experience a major crisis. All of us are on our own journey of faith and our relationship with God is unique in that manner. Not recognizing God is enough to leave us empty and unfulfilled. I think we all can remember a time when we just had that urge to tell someone that we love them. It is so easy to do but also so easily overlooked. Turning to God and telling Him that we love Him is the same thing: so easily done but so oftentimes overlooked. Love is a very very powerful emotion. Arguably it is the most powerful one since it led to our creation. It heals everything. Mercy is undeniably connected to love because, if there is no love, there is no mercy.

When we receive mercy and show mercy, there is an act of surrendering. It does leave us vulnerable but in a good way. I feel that if there was more vulnerability in the world then things would be a lot better. It is when we are vulnerable that we are more likely to take a moment and experience God. This is what Jesus Christ demonstrates through the Passion. During this Season of Lent, we are encouraged to meditate on the Crucified Christ, The Human Christ,  and join with him on his journey to Calvary. When we do this, we are more apt to give and receive mercy.

Deacon Tom

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